Trying to trace Michael Jackson's influence on the pop stars that followed him is like trying to trace the influence of oxygen and gravity. So vast, far-reaching and was his impact — particularly in the wake of Thriller's colossal and heretofore unmatched commercial success — that there weren't a whole lot of artists who weren't trying to mimic some of the Jackson formula.
In a way, such appropriation is fitting. After all, Jackson himself was a borrower. He wasn't content to make a pop record or a dance record. Instead, he wanted everything, combining rock guitar with R&B rhythms, disco strings and the funk of 40,000 years. The production on "Wanna Be Startin' Something" is still baffling and magnificent, fusing a stuttering R&B bassline with traditional African call-and-response chants. Who was doing that then? And — even more notable — who's thought to do it since?
While Jackson will never have an equal, he's always had a steady string of disciples, ready and willing to apply his innovations to their own particular craft. Here's a rundown of the pop stars who pay homage and contemporaries who did some borrowing from the King's arsenal:
Pop Protégés:
Justin Timberlake: Timberlake followed Jackson's career arc like it was the KLF's The Manual: start out as the cute one in a precious, loveable boy band, gradually develop a personality that eclipses and then surpasses your fellow group members, and finally launch an ambitious and wildly successful solo career. If Timberlake's first record owed a too-obvious debt to Jackson (play "Rock Your Body" and "Rock With You" back-to-back sometime), he quickly grew past simple mimicry, crafting a follow-up that dabbled in multiple genres without owing a clear debt to any.
Usher: The first and most obvious Jackson follower of the '90s, Usher possessed both a distinctive voice and laser-precise dancing ability. But what worked for Usher was his ability — like Jackson's — to move beyond simple pop balladry and develop a pure, singular artistic vision (and dance like a smooth criminal). Like Thriller, Usher's Confessions embraced a plethora of styles, opening with a searing crunk classic and slowly giving way to a series of raw, searching ballads. His voice has grown with age, from a clipped squeak to a smooth, elegant croon. Usher has borrowed Jackson's best elements, beginning with simple, low-maintenance pop songs and gradually evolving into an artist of stature and class.
Ne-Yo: And speaking of stature and class: Ne-Yo is contemporary soul's author-in-residence. In addition to his own string of hits, Ne-Yo has co-written chart-toppers for other pop stars, chief among them: Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable." Ne-Yo projects maturity and panache, but his best moments — like the gentle ballad "So Sick" or the whip-crack dance number "Nobody" — could have been lifted from any of Jackson's early records. The way Ne-Yo clips and dishes his croon across old-school R&B rhythms is vintage Michael, and his prowess with the pen could easily find him penning this generation's "We Are the World."
To Read More; link
In a way, such appropriation is fitting. After all, Jackson himself was a borrower. He wasn't content to make a pop record or a dance record. Instead, he wanted everything, combining rock guitar with R&B rhythms, disco strings and the funk of 40,000 years. The production on "Wanna Be Startin' Something" is still baffling and magnificent, fusing a stuttering R&B bassline with traditional African call-and-response chants. Who was doing that then? And — even more notable — who's thought to do it since?
While Jackson will never have an equal, he's always had a steady string of disciples, ready and willing to apply his innovations to their own particular craft. Here's a rundown of the pop stars who pay homage and contemporaries who did some borrowing from the King's arsenal:
Pop Protégés:
Justin Timberlake: Timberlake followed Jackson's career arc like it was the KLF's The Manual: start out as the cute one in a precious, loveable boy band, gradually develop a personality that eclipses and then surpasses your fellow group members, and finally launch an ambitious and wildly successful solo career. If Timberlake's first record owed a too-obvious debt to Jackson (play "Rock Your Body" and "Rock With You" back-to-back sometime), he quickly grew past simple mimicry, crafting a follow-up that dabbled in multiple genres without owing a clear debt to any.
Usher: The first and most obvious Jackson follower of the '90s, Usher possessed both a distinctive voice and laser-precise dancing ability. But what worked for Usher was his ability — like Jackson's — to move beyond simple pop balladry and develop a pure, singular artistic vision (and dance like a smooth criminal). Like Thriller, Usher's Confessions embraced a plethora of styles, opening with a searing crunk classic and slowly giving way to a series of raw, searching ballads. His voice has grown with age, from a clipped squeak to a smooth, elegant croon. Usher has borrowed Jackson's best elements, beginning with simple, low-maintenance pop songs and gradually evolving into an artist of stature and class.
Ne-Yo: And speaking of stature and class: Ne-Yo is contemporary soul's author-in-residence. In addition to his own string of hits, Ne-Yo has co-written chart-toppers for other pop stars, chief among them: Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable." Ne-Yo projects maturity and panache, but his best moments — like the gentle ballad "So Sick" or the whip-crack dance number "Nobody" — could have been lifted from any of Jackson's early records. The way Ne-Yo clips and dishes his croon across old-school R&B rhythms is vintage Michael, and his prowess with the pen could easily find him penning this generation's "We Are the World."
To Read More; link
Looking in my mirror
Took me by surprise
I can't help but see you
Running often through my mind
Helpless like a baby
Sensual disguise
I can't help but love you
It gets better all the time
I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it even if I could
I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it, no
I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it even if I could
I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it, no
Love to run my fingers
Softly while you sigh
Love came and possessed you
Bringing sparkles to your evey
Like a trip to heaven
Heaven is the prize
I'm so glad I found you
You're an angel in disguise
I van't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it even if I could
I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it, no
Took me by surprise
I can't help but see you
Running often through my mind
Helpless like a baby
Sensual disguise
I can't help but love you
It gets better all the time
I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it even if I could
I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it, no
I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it even if I could
I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it, no
Love to run my fingers
Softly while you sigh
Love came and possessed you
Bringing sparkles to your evey
Like a trip to heaven
Heaven is the prize
I'm so glad I found you
You're an angel in disguise
I van't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it even if I could
I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it, no
Once all alone
I was lost in a world of strangers
No one to trust
On my own, I was lonely
You suddenly appeared
It was cloudy before but now it's clear
You took away the fear
You brought me back to life
Chorus
You are the sun
You make me shine
Or more like the stars
That twinkle at night
You are the moon
That glows in my heart
You're my daytime my nighttime
My world
You're my life
Now I wake up everyday
With this smile upon my face
No more tears, no more pain
Cause you love me
You help me understand
That love is the answer to all that I am
And I'am a better man
You taught me by sharing your life
Chorus
You are the sun
You make me shine
Or more like the stars
That twinkle at night
You are the moon
That glows in my heart
You're my daytime my nighttime
My world
You're my life
You gave me strength
When I wasn't strong
You gave me hope when all hope is lost
You opened my eyes when I couldn'tt see
Love was always here waiting for me
I was lost in a world of strangers
No one to trust
On my own, I was lonely
You suddenly appeared
It was cloudy before but now it's clear
You took away the fear
You brought me back to life
Chorus
You are the sun
You make me shine
Or more like the stars
That twinkle at night
You are the moon
That glows in my heart
You're my daytime my nighttime
My world
You're my life
Now I wake up everyday
With this smile upon my face
No more tears, no more pain
Cause you love me
You help me understand
That love is the answer to all that I am
And I'am a better man
You taught me by sharing your life
Chorus
You are the sun
You make me shine
Or more like the stars
That twinkle at night
You are the moon
That glows in my heart
You're my daytime my nighttime
My world
You're my life
You gave me strength
When I wasn't strong
You gave me hope when all hope is lost
You opened my eyes when I couldn'tt see
Love was always here waiting for me
Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by...
If you smile With your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll find that life is still worthwhile if you'll just...
Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you'll just...
Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by...
If you smile
Through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you'll just Smile...
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you'll just Smile
Smile, even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by...
If you smile With your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll find that life is still worthwhile if you'll just...
Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you'll just...
Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by...
If you smile
Through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you'll just Smile...
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you'll just Smile
Sung to our hearts
Removed evil from our worlds with your sweet loving nature.
But behind your smile was both happiness and pain.
You carried the pain,
While we, oblivious, stole the happiness.
A ray of sunshine and in a class of your own.
This world ever trying to destroy your light, not worthy of any part of your life.
Yet you never saw it that way and gave us everything till nothing was left.
How could we have placed hatred on someone completely incapable of it.
In heaven now, you have been set free to live eternally where you belong. No pain will reach you up there, of that I’m sure.
You entered this world loved, left loved, and forever will be loved - what happened in between is unforgivable on our part but I pray that home at last it can be dealt with.
- you said you saw the face of God in children, we saw it in you.
R.I.P Michael.
king of pop.
x
god bless you and your memeories will be in your heart
we will miss you a lot.
we hav a good person ,father and a perfomer
god bless his family and fans
we will misss him a lot
from sanjay. ....................................
god bless him iwyth his voice....................
we will miss you a lot .............................
we will miss you a lot .........................
we will miss you a lot
we will miss you a lot .............................
wwe will miss you a lot
we will miss you a lot
we will miss you a lot
will miwe will miss you a lot
we will misss him a lot
we will misss him a lot
we will misss him a lot
we will misss him a lot
we will miss you a lot.
we hav a good person ,father and a perfomer
god bless his family and fans
we will misss him a lot
from sanjay. ....................................
god bless him iwyth his voice....................
we will miss you a lot .............................
we will miss you a lot .........................
we will miss you a lot
we will miss you a lot .............................
wwe will miss you a lot
we will miss you a lot
we will miss you a lot
will miwe will miss you a lot
we will misss him a lot
we will misss him a lot
we will misss him a lot
we will misss him a lot